Shuffle
by Crimson Skies
Summary: It might not have been a royal flush, but a straight was good enough. A series of related drabbles about the crew of the Bebop.
1. King of Spades

**Disclaimer – I don't own Cowboy Bebop**

**Shuffle**

**By Crimson Skies**

**King of Spades**

Faye Valentine was a gambler, an addict to be sure. She flitted her way from one bet to another in cards or life. Perhaps it was because she had nothing to lose.

An unspecified (because one never asked for a woman's age) number of years ago she'd had a family. Not that she remembered well, but she did. The Faye of that time was young, sweet, and utterly boring. Still, that younger girl had been happy. Or at least, Faye thought she had been. Her memories weren't very clear on the subject. And then the accident happened. Frozen in time, she'd only been awakened when everything she'd known was gone. Instead there was a void, an empty space where her debts resided.

One thing Faye always retained however was her looks and her wits. She was a big girl now, and could scrape her way through life. She'd _earned_ her skills.

When she'd somehow wormed her way aboard the Bebop she'd immediately terrorized the other inhabitants with her sharp tongue and even sharper high heels. The wrong remark would have one of the other bounty hunters limping about for days after. Except for the hacker. It was Faye's rule never to mess with the crazies. She never messed with the dog either. The dog had no aversion to biting her and was way too intelligent for a mutt.

She was a woman who stood alone. Her lack of a past, of family, was also her freedom. With no bonds she could not be tied down. She wasn't obligated to care.

The Bebop was a temporary arrangement. It was never really said, but rather understood, that one day she would leave and not come back. But the days blurred into one another. Soon she had stayed a week longer, then a month. She became comfortable with the state of things. Too comfortable. Barely tolerated acquaintances grew to be something like friends. Or maybe they were like a dysfunctional family – if dysfunctional families caused bodily harm and used each other for target practice on a daily bases. And if they cheated each other out of their money. Well, that could have been just her.

When things when to pieces, she was reminded all too clearly of why she had decided to quit the whole 'giving a damn' business.

The King of Spades, all curves with sharp edges. A King stands alone at the end of the straight. It isolates itself by remaining aloof. It's the card no one wants to be caught holding, excepting the very specific situation in which it's desired above all others.

Faye Valentine was the King of Spades.


	2. Queen of Diamonds

**Disclaimer – I don't own Cowboy Bebop**

**Shuffle**

**By Crimson Skies**

**Queen of Diamonds**

Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky the 4th had a personality even more interesting than her name implied.

Most people simply called her Ed, or 'Radical Edward'. Not only did they not know her full name, but often confused her gender as well. In fact only two people ever remembered her full name. Her father was the first, as he was the one who gave it to her. That a father would have the gumption to name his _daughter _such a thing said much. It rather implied that the mental status of the family was genetic. Indeed, the name fit Ed better than any other could because Ed was truly unique.

Sometimes when people went out of their way to analyze Edward, they more often than not walked away with the wrong impression entirely.

That Edward was brilliant could not be disputed. Her skill with a computer was second to none. Her apparent simplicity only offset this intelligence. There was a childlike quality to everything she did, even hacking a computer. This was only proper seeing as Edward was, first and foremost, a child. The quality that made her unsettling was not her childlike behavior, but her genius abilities for one her age. Someone might think the immaturity was a facade, for surely one of such intelligence wouldn't act in such an unseemly fashion. But that was just who Ed was, truly simple in perception and motivation.

The Bebop was Ed's dream, her vacation. To Edward, life was a vacation. And so, for a time, the Bebop was Ed's life.

Edward was an unwelcome inconvenience among the Bebop residents, even if she proved later to be worth her weight in wulong. She's forced her way onto the ship in a manner that defied argument. Certainly, there was little that could remove her against her will. She was a bit like a wart that way. She grew on people and was undeniably stubborn. Her determination to get her way was as innocent as the rest of her. The Bebop was where she wanted to be, so she was going to be there. It's the true logic of a child. No right and wrong, just what is and what isn't.

When Ed walked away it was with some regret. No one wants a treasured vacation to end, child and adult alike. It was then she began to grow up, for regret is a behavior unfitting for a child.

The Queen of Diamonds, honesty in straight lines and perfect angles. A Queen has the value of potential. It is whimsical rather than obstinate. It's the card that will willingly mold itself to the rest of the hand. That is, if it so wishes.

Edward was the Queen of Diamonds.


	3. Ace of Hearts

**Disclaimer – I don't own Cowboy Bebop**

**Shuffle**

**By Crimson Skies**

**Ace of Hearts**

Jet Black made his living hunting bounties. It wasn't so different, actually, from what he'd done before. Only this time, the primary beneficiary was himself.

When Jet was younger he was an idealist. At a later age, he'd deny being one anymore. Even so, the person he'd once been was buried somewhere. After quitting the Force, he could have gone anywhere and done anything. It would have been much easier to run a supply route, do deliveries, and maybe a little smuggling on the side. Certainly it would have provided a steadier income. But a dog, though it's domesticated, is still a hunter at heart. A dog that's abandoned its masters is even more likely to revert to its natural instincts.

It could be said of Jet that he was set in his ways, a stubborn old fool. Certainly he'd almost been convinced of this when he realized how set in his ways he was.

Jet certainly hadn't thought he needed a partner. A partner was something he'd had back in the old days. When Jet had made a deal with a half-starved man, he thought he'd temporarily taken leave of his senses. He was taking in a virtual unknown, living on his ship, sharing his income. He cooked the meals and the other complained but ate them anyway. For a while Jet convinced himself that he had just been feeling charitable. That he hadn't really taken on a partner in his newly fledged bounty hunting business. When Jet realized exactly how much he relied on his 'charity case' he also realized how predictable he really was.

How Jet's crew of free-loaders had expanded, he didn't want to contemplate. He also didn't want to think about how he'd never thrown them out, though he could of.

The Bebop was Jet's ship. It was his home before everything else. Certainly it was irritating when he could no longer get a moment peace within the sanctuary of his home. His poor bonsai trees had suffered terribly. Every time he retreated to the only personal space he had left on his own ship, someone entered in a most unsettling fashion causing his hand to slip. And then Jet would sigh in a most dejected manner at the newly butchered plant.

Never once did Jet even dream that he would miss the headache that came with the crew. And he didn't. But he soon came to realize that the silence was just as disturbing.

The Ace of Hearts, straightforward and steadfast. The Ace takes what it gets and gives back in turn. Its individual value is multiplied tenfold in the proper company. It's the card that by all rights should be common, but usually isn't. Give and take.

Jet Black was the Ace of Hearts.


End file.
